for that i spoke earlier this evening with nariman behravesh of ihs insight and kill huh of the pew center of the state. >> we were talking about consequences here tonight. they seem to move a few steps forward, a few steps back, which are the consequences we think are are theoretical and which ones are rule? >> well, i think a default is theoretical in the sense that the treasury department would not default on our interest payments. that would be a top priority. so i don't think there will even be a technical default. that's the least likely of all the scenarios. the most likely if in fact we go past the august 2 deadline is in fact slashing all kinds of spending including, one has to say, social security, because it's a 40% gap between revenues and spending. that's a big gap. it means a lot of programs would be cut. that would drive the u.s. into a recession. i think that's a much more likely scenario than a default scenario. it just seems inconceivable that the treasury department would not pay on our debt. that would create all kinds of havoc financially here and globally. so i don't